Thursday, May 11, 2006

Cat Up a Tree!

Update: the cat is still there, but he was coaxed to come down a little (about 15-20 feet) by the owner of the tree. He went up a ladder and talked to the cat, and the cat came down to a point about 20 feet from the ground, but then something scared him and he went back up the tree a way. I am hoping that now he realizes how to come down; maybe he will do it tonight when there is no one around. The owner of the property is very private and would not draw attention to himself by calling a TV station.

There is a poor Persian cat stuck up a tree in my neighbor's yard. He has been there for three days now, and refuses to budge. We don't know who he belongs to, but he is so pretty and well-cared for that we know he is not a stray. It appears that neighborhood dogs chased him up there, and he is sitting on the crotch of three branches about 45-50 feet up!

About 4 pm , I grabbed the camera to go out and photograph him before the storm hit. The weathermen had forecast a big storm, and it was getting darker. Just as I was headed outside, the heavens opened up and rain poured down in sheets. We all decided that a bad storm would drive him down the tree at last - but no such luck. He is still sitting there, looking a little bit like a drowned rat. I tried to take photos of him, but either my camera is not good enough or I didn't have it on the right setting.

We have called the fire department, a veterinarian, the SPCA, and pet rescue agencies. None of them will do anything. Do any of you have any good ideas for coaxing him out of the tree?

Note: I found this image on Google, but it looks so much like the cat in our tree it is eerie! P.S. We have already tried tuna and it didn't work.

30 comments:

I can't believe that the authorities you've contacted refuse to do anything. Is it a mere myth that fire departments rescue cats? Is it humane for a humane society to ignore a supposed object of its efforts?

I guess the planet's magnetic field must have reversed when we weren't looking.

How's about a bunch of you get a giant blanket and stand below the tree. Then someone tries to scare the cat out...if he (she?) falls, said feline would land square in the blankie and be none the worse for wear.

OK, ticked off. But likely uninjured. I feel so sorry for the poor thing - and so glad that you're there to care.

How come it always seems as if those type of stories (the ones of 'cat stuck up tree' type) end up at the end of the news as a 'feel good' story. Maybe try ringing up your local television network? Or a current affaris program? Worth a try! *giggle giggle*

Oh that is sooo hard. Food. Food And Water would be the only suggestion I would make....I'm sure everyone has tried "Here Kitty Kitty"..I'm serious. Years ago we had a cat up a tree and no one get him down and my sister just talked him down..(It may be he was ready, of course..) I would try some cooked chicken, if anyone has any. Birds, you know? Good luck, Judy..I hope you can get him down. I'm shocked that nobody will do anything..The Fire Deparment? Gee...they are always showing stuff on television where the Fire Dept. has rescued a cat! Not in your town I guess. He looks very very beautiful. Poor kitty...

Ohh poor kitty :( I can't add anything new that others haven't suggested; all good ideas! My cats all used to just eventually come down out of the trees when I was a kid. However, my friend's cat left her yard and went up a neighbor's tree and someone...either animal control or the Humane Society came and got him down (he had been up there 3 days and only had BACK claws and couldn't get down, which could be the problem for this cat) and answered a "missing cat" ad that she had put in the paper. Anyone looking for their cat? Any notices in the neighborhoods around the area? There are regularly items in the paper about animals being rescued from sticky situations like this and costing LOTS of money to do it. I don't understand why no one will help!

I'm surprised the fire department or the SPCA won't help. I think SRP had a good suggestion in calling the local news station. Publicity ought to prod the local authorities into action! arrgh. Hopefully he will get so hungry he'll come down. Also, it might be that he doesn't like that type of cat food or tuna, cats are so picky.... (just kidding).

How awful! But thank goodness he has people like you that are concerned about him.I can't add anything here either...but I definitely agree with the one of calling the local TV station. You mean to tell me Animal Control won't come out and help with this unfortunate situation? WHAT the heck are they FOR then? Like Utenzi....this really makes me angry.Please keep us posted on the outcome.

How could the kitty have climbed the tree w/o some of her claws? Of course it seems like getting down will be even harder. I have no idea what might convince her to try but I'll be waiting to find out what happens. I send best luck to the neighborhood Good Samaritans. lucyd

Growing up, our cats (outdoor, country cats) never had problems getting down from high places. Recently, we had a cat that would get on our roof. He would stay up there for days until my husband would get him down. The trick was to hold a sturdy box next to the gutter. He would jump into the box and my husband would set the box on the ground. But, the cat would not get in the box if I was holding it. Perhaps someone in the neighborhood has a ladder and can use a box to get the cat down.

On a similar note, this week in Atlanta a deer get stuck in a residential iron fence. He couldn't pull his hindquarters through no matter how much he tried. The homeowner tried every agency he could think of and only received help after contacting one of the local TV stations. Many agencies showed up to free the deer. It had lost alot of blood trying to free itself, however they tranq'ed it and pulled it free. It was taken to a vet, but subsequently died due to the stress and blood loss. It was unfortunate that people did not respond until the media got involved.

We've had lots of cats go up trees, but they always came down pretty soon. Sounds like this one can't, maybe. Three days is too long. The best suggestion I've seen is to call the TV station and shame the local authorities to do something! Hope it all works out.

Like everyone else said, 3 Days is a LONG time to be up there...poor thing!! I love the local TV station idea ..I mean WHAT EVER HAPPENED to the whole (get the cat out of the tree by the kind police or fireman) image we all grew up with??..I realize there are alot of other emergancies but 3 days?!....

have u or your neighbours tryed to find out where the cat belongs, or if a missing cat poster is around? Maybe the actual owner could call it down, it's obviously scared and hungry ...Keep us posted Kenju...I for one will have that cat on my mind ...

This happened to us once. We put a bowl of milk, and an open can of tuna at the base, where he could see it. My son, age 5, also started tossing stuff up there. The cat got annoyed enough and came down once we left. Good luck, kitty!

Call around and see if you can find someone with a cherry picker willing to come out. If the tree isn't too leafy, and if the owner can get to the cat's level, he might be able to coax him over or reach out and snag him.

Did the cat ever come down?? After how many days?? My friend has a cat stuck up in a tree right now and he has been up there 3 days so we are getting worried about him!! I have never heard of a cat dying up in a tree before but we can't get anyone to help us (Fire Dept, Vet, SPCA, Tree Trimmers etc).

my persian cat is stuck on a slim branch of a tree 13 meters high.she is there for 7 days now..i contacted the firemen and they came and said they can only shoot her with water and try to catch her but cant guarantee if she will survive.the animal ambulence come everyday to check up on her reactions and say they dont know what to do and that she will come down eventually...Its 7 DAYS!what are they waiting for?i cant do this anymore,tried climbing,using ladders...calling her..nothing works..she is scared and gets weaker day by day..i feel so helpless ...pleasee anyone has an idea,let me know..please

I am posting this on a couple of blogs to help people that have a cat up a tree they cannot get to. Our cat was 50 ft up a tree you could not climb down. The tree was not healthy and would have been risky to climb and the cat was so high in the spindly top no one could have reached her. She desperately wanted down but was too afraid to climb. We coaxed for 2 days and got no where. I had put her food out and showed it to her, whistled her food whistle and she just cried, tried to come down a little and gave up because she was too scared. It rained overnight and she was so pitiful up there so high. It was supposed to get really cold and windy.

We read that if you wait until dark and shine a flashlight up the tree, so it can see a few feet down, the cat might start to climb. I tried it and she would try to climb front first and lose her balance a little and her backside would slide and she would catch herself. She didn't like it, but she started to make progress. Twenty minutes later, she was down. I was so relieved.

She isn't even a year old yet and we lost the kitten we had before her. We think something in the woods got it. We were so relieved this wasn't hurt and nothing preyed on her in the night.

I called my vet when I found her up the tree and they said that if they have all of their claws, they can usually get down. If they only have back claws, they probably won't be able to get down. Hope that helps anyone with a kitty up a tree.